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CAMDEN – The city’s transit center could receive a makeover, but first a nearby intersection will get a walkover.

Camden County freeholders have approved spending $7.5 million to design and build a pedestrian bridge across Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Broadway, a busy crossing adjacent to the Walter Rand Transportation Center.

The need for the bridge could increase as officials pursue a plan to upgrade and redevelop the transit center, which includes a Patco Hi-Speedline station, Cappelli added.

Freeholders have put aside $2 million for preliminary engineering and architectural design for potential improvements to the “frankly antiquated” center, said Kris Kolluri, CEO at Cooper’s Ferry Partnership, a nonprofit guiding Camden’s redevelopment.

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A bridge is planned to lift pedestrians above the hazardous intersection of Broadway and Martin Luther King Boulevard.(Photo: Jim Walsh, Staff photographer)

Funds for both projects would come from NJ Transit, according to the county.

An improved transit center would have “a transformative effect on transportation, public safety and the general downtown climate,” said Kolluri, a former commissioner at the state Department of Transportation.

“It will have a huge impact on giving city residents access to regional employment opportunities,” he said.

Changes to the center could include moving bus traffic to indoor bays, thinning the crowds that now line Broadway’s sidewalks. Redevelopment also could put an office tower or residential complex above the center.

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Camden County freeholders have alloted $2 million for preliminary engineering and architectural design for improvements to Camden's transportation center.(Photo: Jim Walsh, Staff photographer)

The bridge is a separate project focused on pedestrian safety, although it’s expected to improve future access to an upgraded transit center, Kolluri said.

Camden County police officers currently monitor pedestrians as they brave six traffic lanes, two bike lanes and the RiverLINE light-rail tracks.

Once the bridge is completed, those officers could be deployed elsewhere, Cappelli noted.

A design phase will determine the bridge’s exact location, said Kolluri, who noted the span’s intended to be accessible to the revived transportation center.

A construction timetable has not been set.

“The volume of people crossing there is a lot higher than it was even three years ago,” said Kolluri. “That’s only going to grow as the other side of Broadway begins to grow and expand.”

A 100,000-square-foot Joint Health Sciences Center is expected to open this fall on the intersection’s southwest corner, with a second phase of about the same size planned for the other side of Broadway.

The complex will be used by Rowan University, Rutgers University–Camden, Camden County College, and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.

Kolluri acknowledged not every pedestrian will use a bridge in an area where jaywalking is common.

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A Camden County police officer monitors traffic at Broadway and Martin Luther King Boulevard in Camden.(Photo: Jim Walsh, Staff photographer)

“Pedestrian crossing is not an exact science,” he acknowledged. "But at the very least, it will diffuse the concentration of people."

“In many ways, this is a good problem,” he said of increased congestion on downtown streets and sidewalks.

“For the longest time we didn’t have to worry about how to segregate foot traffic from vehicular traffic because both were virtually non-existent,” said Kolluri. “You now have a lot more cars, a lot more people.”

“The goal isn’t to ruin the character of the city,” he said. “It’s more to provide a safe passage of both pedestrians and vehicles. Any growing city would do that, and Camden is fortunately in the position to be growing.”

Jim Walsh is a free-range reporter who’s been roaming around South Jersey for decades. His interests include crime, the courts, economic development and being first with breaking news. Reach him at jwalsh@gannettnj.com or look for him in traffic.